Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin: Writers Running Wild in the Twenties

This is an exuberant group portrait of four extraordinary writers, Zelda Fitzgerald, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Dorothy Parker, and Edna Ferber, whose loves, lives, and literary endeavors captured the spirit of the 1920s.

This book was a romp through the 20's with some of it's more interesting characters. It's fascinating to find out how very human and fragile legends really are. This group lived on the edge but they had the problems of ordinary people too. What makes it so much fun is to see it all through their creative and usually very humorous points of view!

The Martian

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?"

I rarely listen to fiction and I never listen to science fiction. I got this book because of a review in the Wall Street Journal. I was captivated from page one and had tears rolling down my cheeks twice before the end. I LOVED this book! Now and again I'd get lost in some technical details but it didn't matter, I just listened on through, eventually it would all make sense. Do yourself a favor and Google how this book came to be published. That in itself is another wonderful story!

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand: A Novel

You are about to travel to Edgecombe St. Mary, a small village in the English countryside filled with rolling hills, thatched cottages, and a cast of characters both hilariously original and as familiar as the members of your own family. Among them is Major Ernest Pettigrew (retired), the unlikely hero of Helen Simonson's wondrous debut. Wry, courtly, opinionated, and completely endearing, Major Pettigrew is one of the most indelible characters in contemporary fiction.

Such an unusual reader. His voice and style are perfectly matched to this most wonderful story. This was my end of the day book, I listened to it while brushing my old cat before going to bed. I was transported to another world, completely lost in the story. It's so unusual to be captured in this way when there is no mystery or murder! I couldn't wait to get back to it and was sorry when I reached the end. Now I'm about to look through the rest of Peter Altschuler's readings...

The Cuckoo's Calling

After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator. Then John Bristow walks through his door with an amazing story: his sister, the legendary supermodel Lula Landry, famously fell to her death a few months earlier. The police ruled it a suicide, but John refuses to believe that. The case plunges Strike into the world of multimillionaire beauties, rock-star boyfriends, and desperate designers, and it introduces him to every variety of pleasure, enticement, seduction, and delusion known to man.

Easy Rider, Raging Bulls follows the wild ride that was Hollywood in the 70s - an unabashed celebration of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll (both on screen and off) and a climate where innovation and experimentation reigned supreme.

If you could sum up Easy Riders, Raging Bulls in three words, what would they be?

Real Eye Opener!

What did you like best about this story?

This book is fascinating if you studied film in the '70's or are a film buff. We idolized these guys, analyzed their movies with great seriousness, intently picked apart all the details, wrote papers on them...hearing the back story here completely floored me. All these guys are people just like us, only they were given free reign to go berserk professionally, financially and many times personally. I adored this book, I laughed out loud all the way through it. An amazing bunch of guys (and a few of the wives and girlfriends stand out too), they made movies I've never stopped loving, but this book did me a favor and brought them out of my college days' perceived god status of them and brought them down to earth.

Have you listened to any of Dick Hill???s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, just as good. He is only suited for a certain type of book and this is definitely one of them!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Way too long to do that but I HATED to finally reach the end. In theory, yes.

The Glimpses of the Moon

Nick Lansing and Susy Branch are young, attractive but impoverished New Yorkers. They are in love and decide to marry, but realise their chances of happiness are slim without the wealth and society that their more privileged friends take for granted. Nick and Susy agree to separate when either encounters a more eligible proposition.

I wasn't thrilled with the reading. Except in very rare cases, I prefer that men don't go to great ends to sound like women and vice versa, This reader's renditions of the more eccentric masculine characters sound kind of ridiculous. On the other hand, when she is simply reading, her voice is perfect for the story and the mood of the book, which I very much enjoyed.

Of Human Bondage, Volume 1

Of Human Bondage is one of the greatest novels of modern times, and it is certainly Maugham's greatest achievement. It was published in 1914, when Maugham was at the height of his creative powers. The story concerns Philip Carey, afflicted at birth with a club foot, and his passionate search for truth in a cruel world. We follow his growth to manhood, his educational progress, his first loves, and the wrenching tragedies and disappointments that life has in store for him.

I'm giving this a high rating because I think the story is wonderful. I did however have a terrible time getting used to the insane use of "other voices" for the women and the main character as a child. Absolutely horrible!! A straightforward reading by this narrator would have been fine, he is a very good reader. There was no need for this ridiculous idea of creating some kind of theatre. As one reader mentioned, the women all come across as spineless simps whether they are noble or not. Such a shame for such a long and wonderful book!

Do as I Say (Not As I Do)

Peter Schweizer decided to investigate in depth the private lives of prominent liberals, to examine whether they lived by the principles they so forcefully advocate. What he found was a long list of contradictions. Schweizer's conclusion is simple: liberalism in the end forces its adherents to become hypocrites. Schweizer's book thus exposes the contradiction at the core of liberalism: If these ideas don't work for the very individuals who promote them, how can they work for the country?

Really interesting to hear because more than half of the people profiled are not the most well known cases. Kind of horrifying, as well, as these people are held high as role models by many because of what they say (and not because of what they do...).

Far from the Madding Crowd

Gabriel Oak is only one of three suitors for the hand of the beautiful and spirited Bathsheba Everdene. He must compete with the dashing young soldier Sergeant Troy and the respectable, middle-aged Farmer Boldwood. And while their fates depend upon the choice Bathsheba makes, she discovers the terrible consequences of an inconstant heart.

Washington Square (Blackstone Audio Edition)

On New York City's Washington Square lives Catherine Sloper, a shy and plain-looking young woman who is tyrannized by her wealthy, overbearing father. When young Morris Townsend begins to court her, Dr. Sloper, distrusting his motives, threatens to disinherit Catherine. In accordance with her father's suspicions, young Townsend disappears, leaving Catherine to humiliation, heartache, and lonely spinsterhood.

A Fine Balance

In the India of the mid-1970s, Indira Gandhi's government has just come to power. It institutionalizes corruption and arbitrary force, most oppressive to the poorest and weakest people under its sway. Against this backdrop, in an unnamed city by the sea, four people struggle to survive. Dina, Maneck, and two tailors, the Untouchables Om and Ishvar, who are sewing in Dina's service, undergo a series of reversals.

It took me a while to get into this book, it is relentlessly grim - BUT the four main characters eventually steal your heart. After I finished the book, it took me days before I shook off it's sad mood. The book is also an interesting window on India's upheavals in the 70's. The writing is so vivid, often you feel you are right there with the characters. A fantastic book.

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